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Saturday, October 20, 2012

Green Alert: Tracking President Obama's green energy failures

DECEMBER 2012 UPDATES

At the end of September, Marita Noon and I began to expose the various failures of Obama’s green-energy expenditures (mainly from the trillion dollar, 2009-stimulus package where over $90 billion was earmarked for "green") –– projects and firms that have gone bankrupt (confirming 15 with more on our radar). A hot topic that became part of the first presidential debate whereafter President Obama pressed Mitt Romney for supporting tax cuts for
oil companies, Romney reminded Obama that he put $90 billion into
failing green companies like Solyndra, Fisker, Tesla, and Ener1. “I had friend who said you don’t just pick the winners and losers, you pick the losers,” Romney cleverly added.
We then we moved on to those that are functioning, but facing difficulties (approximately 20)–– struggling either financially, while some environmentally, and even those that are facing federal probes for various reasons. Still, many are laying off workers, and quite a few are on life support, with a number experiencing a combination of the aforementioned.
Lastly, we addressed the "5 million green jobs that Candidate Obama had promised in 2008," of which Team Obama is now claiming victory, however, as we noted, the math doesn't add up, nor does the gimmick accounting –– recycled ones; those that already existed –– used by the Obama administration's Labor Department.
While in Marita's Townhall.com columns we placed an * after the
project/company’s name to indicate a political connection (cronyism and corruption), in my subsequent blogs I expanded upon our efforts, and plugged in my research, listing those critical ties.
In our three-part series, two focused directly on the failures, and our sums were 15 bankruptcies and 20 troubled (a total of 35 with over 65% having meaningful Democrat political connections –– bundlers, donors, supporters, etc). Yet, considering the rapid speed of these "green" bankruptcies and issues (about 10 that I read about just last week), I'm compiling new totals here, which will include a new and updated list by the Heritage Foundation dated October 18, 2012 –– President Obama’s Taxpayer-Backed Green Energy Failures –– with their total of 36 (updated later with a number of 34). And most listed at The Heritage and ours are very similar, however, they have some we don't and vise versa.

UPDATE: New calculations as of December 1, 2012: despite eliminating AES Energy (which I am still not sure of) from my list and adding ReVolt Technology, the numbers remain the same: 23 bankrupt, 29 troubled, equals a new "Obama green-energy failure" list total of 52. While billions of "green-energy taxpayer money is gone, and we know that the majority of the loans (90 percent) were funneled to Obama and high-ranking Democrat
cronies, the "troubled list is a moving target." Thus there is no way to give an exact dollar amount what is still at risk, yet we do know that the percentage of cronyism in the failed and troubled list is hoovering around 56% (29 of the 52), until I have time to dig further.

BANKRUPT

Solyndra*: Received $535 million DOE loan and $25.1 million in California tax credit. Bankrupt: September 2011

Abound Solar*: Received part of a $60 million grant
under the Bush administration, and was awarded a $400 million loan under
Obama in December of 2010. Abound was awarded a $9.2-million loan from
the Export-Import Bank in July 2011. Bankrupt: June 2012

Beacon Power*: Received more than $25 million in DOE grants and a DOE loan for $43 million. Bankrupt: October 2011

A123 Systems*: Received $390 million, of which $249 million of it was a Recovery Act Grant. Filed for Bankruptcy October 16, 2012, and two companies are seeking to buy A123; Johnson Controls and the Chinese firm Wanxiang Group Corp.

Amonix*: Received $6 million in federal tax credits a $15.6 million grant from the DOE for research and development. Bankrupt: July 18, 2012.

Azure Dynamics*: Received millions in stimulus funds and over $1.7 million in Michigan state tax credits. Bankrupt: March 27, 2012–– HF ADDITION: states $120 million

Babcock & Brown: Received $178 million in the largest federal (1603) stimulus wind grant in December 2009. Placed into voluntary liquidation: March 13, 2009

Konarka Technologies Inc.: Received $20 million in grants from government agencies such as the DOE and the Pentagon. Bankrupt: June 4, 2012.

ADDITION Range Fuels*: Range Fuels: $162.25 million in government
commitments since 2007, of which $64 million came from a USDA Biofuel loan in 2010 alone, despite financial and technical difficulties, and opposition inside the USDA.

HF ADDITION: Satcon ($3 million) As reported by the Heritage Foundation October 18, 2012, "A solar company that got a multi-million-dollar grant from the Department of Energy earlier this year announced Wednesday that it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, making it the second taxpayer-backed green energy company to file for bankruptcy this week."

ADDITION, October 23, 2012:Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Co.: Received $480,000 through the Section 48C Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit Program. During Obama's visit to Cardinal Fastener, he took a "green Recovery Act victory lap," and touted it as means for "Made-In-America Jobs" for Ohio. Yet, just two weeks after the Obama visit, Cardinal laid off 12 percent of its staff, and in June 2011, Cardinal Fastener filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Lastly, in January 2012, Cardinal Fastener was acquired by Germany’s Wurth Group for just $3.9 Million.

HF ADDITION, December 1, 2012:ReVolt Technology is a Portland-based company, which specialized in developing zinc-air flow battery systems. "ReVolt earned its place in the Graveyard when it declared bankruptcy (October 17, 2012), despite the fact it had been offered a whopping $10 million in funds from federal, state, and local governments. The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy offered a $5 million grant in 2010. Oregon matched the federal government’s promise with $5 million worth of loans."

"Republicans and outside business groups are calling on the Treasury Department to reject the sale of bankrupt battery-maker and stimulus recipient A123 Systems, Inc. to a Chinese firm, arguing the move could put American national security at risk."

"Chinese firm Wanxiang Group won a bid for A123 System on Sunday, beating out the Wisconsin-based Johnson Controls. A123 Systems, which produced lithium-ion batteries for electric cars, filed for bankruptcy in October after receiving $133 million of a $249 million stimulus grant from the federal government."

ADDITION November 20, 2012:Georgia Power Company –– $8.33 billion via the 1703 DOE LGP for Plant Vogtle, the construction and operation of two new nuclear reactors at a plant in Waynesboro, Georgia. In July 2012, Bloomberg reported the purchase of The Shaw Group Inc., which is connected to the Vogtle project, noting that Southern Co. is the largest investor in the Vogtle project, and they reported delays and cost overruns. Also, in August 2012, "Plant Vogtle's contractors sue Georgia Power, project's co-owners," yet there is more to this story that I will expose in due time.

ADDITION: Solar City* –– Got a $275 million conditional
guarantee (DOE) that was later rejected. Besides some financial issues, Solar City was subpoenaed in July as part of a federal probe of the Treasury grant program. As reported by The Washington Free Beacon (October 18, 2012), SolarCity,
is currently being audited by the Internal Revenue Service and
investigated by the Treasury Department’s inspector general amid
allegations that the firm misrepresented the value of its investment
when applying for stimulus grants. So it looks like Solar City" has applied for approximately $325 million in these stimulus grants, according to the SEC filing." So, loan rejected, but the grant is larger (as are the political ties) –– we'll keep an eye on this story.

Solar World Industries America––
$4.6 million HF UPDATE, November 16, 2012:Solar World ($82 millioncredit
from the Energy Department’s stimulus-funded Advanced Energy
Manufacturing (48C) Tax Credit). According to the Heritage Foundation, "SolarWorld, which announced a 47% revenue decline in the third quarter, blamed a potential 37 layoffs at its Oregon plant on “illegal” Chinese trade practices."

HF ADDITION:Vestas ($50 million)

HF ADDITION:LG Chem’s subsidiary Compact Power ($151 million, part of the Recovery Act, and millions worth of special state tax breaks based on job creation of all things) LG Chem is another green company that President Obama touted during his visit at the LG Chem battery cell production site in 2010. This is an amusing story that was recently brought to my attention –– according to Wood TV, Michigan (October 18, 2012), "Workers at LG Chem, a $300 million lithium-ion battery plant heavily funded by taxpayers, tell Target 8 that they have so little work to do that they spend hours playing cards and board games, reading magazines or watching movies." Now, their story (more scandalous than what I posted here) is under investigation by the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board –– an oversight agency for the federal stimulus program, what I call the RAT Board –– another huge part of this green corruption scandal.

ADDITION, October 22, 2012:MiaSolé*: Received two Advanced Energy Manufacturing tax credits totaling $101.8 million from the Obama Administration in January 2010, see my Summer 2010 report on Kleiner Perkins, yet also a VantagePoint investment. This month (October), "struggling" and "desperate" MiaSole has agreed to be sold to China's Hanergy Holding Group for $30 Million, which is considered to be dirt cheap.

ADDITION, October 23, 2012: Smith Electric Vehicles: Received $32 million in federal grants from the American Recovery Act. Smith Electric Vehicles was another Obama touted green investment, however, since 2009 they have "racked up $128 million in losses." In February 2011, Smith Electric Vehicles announced a potential partnership with Wanxiang Group (one of the largest non-government-owned companies in China that is on a "green USA buying spree" –– Smith Electric, A123 Systems and Ener1), and in September 2012, struggling (and "short on cash") Smith Electric scrapped its IPO to “pursue private financing opportunities.”

HF ADDITION, November 16, 2012: SunTech ($2.1 millioncredit from the Energy Department’s stimulus-funded Advanced Energy Manufacturing (48C) Tax Credit). According to the Heritage Foundation, "SunTech said
the U.S. International Trade Commission’s 35.95% tariff on Chinese
solar panels was partially responsible for the 50 impending layoffs at
its Arizona production facilities."

"Without the hundreds of millions of dollars Tesla TSLA -1.25% has received from the federal government this year, the electric-car maker’s financials would be gasping for air as 2012 winds down."

"Given the ugly state of Tesla’s finances — and the company’s sky-high valuation: almost $4 billion — it will rank among the top candidates in Silicon Valley for a 2013 stock collapse, unless it receives significantly more cash next year."

========================BEGINNING calculations October 20, 2012: 22 bankrupt, 25 troubled, equals a new "Obama green-energy failure" list total of 47. And so
far, at least $15 billion of "green" taxpayer money is either gone or
still at risk, and the majority was funneled to Obama and Democrat
cronies –– I can confirm that over 62% are political connected.

October 23, 2012 calculation:23 bankrupt, 27 troubled, equals a new "Obama green-energy failure" list total of 50. At least $15 billion of "green" taxpayer money is either gone or
still at risk, and the majority was funneled to Obama and Democrat
cronies –– percentage of cronyism is hoovering around 60% (29 of the 50).

*Denotes companies that have filed for bankruptcy.HERITAGE CORRECTION:Figures for four companies have been updated: Beacon Power received $43 million from the U.S. government, not $69 million as originally reported. Azure Dynamics received $5.4 million from the federal government, not $120 million as originally reported. Compact Power Inc. received $151 million as part of the stimulus, not $150 million as originally reported. Willard and Kelsey Solar Group received $700,981 in government funding, not $6 million as originally reported.The following companies have been removed from the original list:
AES’s subsidiary Eastern Energy, LSP Energy and Uni-Solar did not
receive government-backed loans, based on additional research. The
National Renewable Energy Lab did received $200 million in stimulus
funding, but it is a government laboratory.

UPDATEDecember 1, 2012: I am taking off AES Eastern Energy/Energy Storage*, yet on August 2, 2010 they did received $17.1 million DOE conditional commitment"to support the construction of a 20 megawatt (MW) energy storage system using advanced lithium-ion batteries" –– a project Johnson City, New York, and according to a December 23, 2010 press release by Energy.gov, "DOE Completes $17 Million Loan Guarantee for New York Energy Storage System with Recovery Act Funds." However, AES is not listed as one of the DOE's Loan Program's Office projects, yet they did go bankrupt: December 31, 2011.NOTE: My blog reflects the Heritage "corrections," however, I kept in AES and the National Energy Lab –– and we initially had four unconfirmed bankruptcies:

LSP Energy

Mountain Plaza Inc.

Olsen Crop Service/Olsen Mills

Willard & Kelsey Solar Group

So far, at least $15 billion of "green" taxpayer money is either gone or still at risk, and the majority was funneled to Obama and Democrat cronies As you can see tracking President Obama's failed green-energy expenditures is like aiming at a moving target, and calculating the exact dollar amount is even more difficult to pinpoint. This is partly due the fact that companies/projects received multiple green government subsidies that weren't recorded or tracked properly (federal and state loans, grants and special tax credits, and from various programs and agencies). Also, some of these firms were given a loan guarantee, yet didn't have access to the entire amount, prior to their bankruptcy. However, as a ballpark figure, I'd say that at least $15 billion that we know of at this time. And here's why...I had purposely listed the bankrupt and troubled from the Department of Energy's Loan Guarantee Program (DOE LGP) first. Since 2009, the DOE has guaranteed $34.7 billion – 46% through the 1705 ($16
billion of which 90% are politically connected), 30% through the 1703
($10.3 billion—AREVA and Georgia Power), and 14% through the ATVM ($8.4
billion and 3 of the five loans are tied directly to Obama).Marita and I covered eleven companies from the DOE LGP (Solyndra, Abound Solar, Beacon Power, Fisker Auto, Telsa Motors, AREVA, BrightSource Energy, First Solar, Nevada Geothermal, NextEra Energy's Genesis Solar Project, and SunPower/NRG Energy's California Valley Solar Ranch), noting that from that program alone, close
to $10 billion of taxpayer money is already gone, while, as you can see, some is still at risk. What's interesting to note is that of the "26 loan guarantees under the 1705 program, of which the DOE
doled out in excess of $16 billion, “23 of the loans were rated “Junk
grade” due to their poor credit quality, while the other four were rated
BBB, which is at the lowest end of the 'investment' grade of
categories.”Meaning that the DOE had already put the majority of that $16 billion into excessively risky investments. And to add insult to taxpayer injury, the driving force behind these decisions weren't based merit as the DOE would have you believe –– obviously it was cronyism and corruption. My April 2012 analysis of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform March 2012 report confirmed that over 90% have meaningful political ties to President Obama and high ranking Democrats, or both, which gives credence to Congressman Ryan's jab to the so-called "Stimulus Sheriff," Vice President Joe Biden during the VP debate, "$90 billion in green pork
to campaign contributors and special interest groups." Ryan went on to call the Obama green-energy expenditures what it is, "crony capitalism and corporate welfare." In case you missed our Obama Green Energy Failures, Three Part Series:

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In addition to these I'm concerned with the bio-fuels companies supplying $30 a gallon fuel to the armed services that used to pay $3.50. I looked into some of these companies and of course the first one I looked at was tied to the Administration. We are being so scammed while the campaigner in chief keeps people worked up on Guns, Gay Marriage, Immigration. Feel like they keep us busy and distracted downstairs while they clean out the safe upstairs.

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April 2012 -- Green Corruption: Department of Energy “Junk Loans” and Cronyism, Part One

"Extraordinary in-depth expose' of the incredible extent of the green energy scandal. It goes so far beyond Solyndra that you'll be shocked." April 26, 2012 Dave Nalle, Chair of the Republican Liberty Caucus and editor at Blogcritics Magazine

The Bureau of Land Management is attempting to shut down the Bundy Ranch to clear the path for massive solar energy developments in sou...

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December 2012 Issue / Page 14

December 2012 Issue

Green Graft:

Fifty failures, Green Corruption blog lists a total of 50 Obama green-energy busts: 23 bankrupt and 27 teetering. As of 10/23/12, at least $15 billion in "green" taxpayer money is either going or gone, most funneled to Obama Democrat cronies.

September 24, 2014: Christine Lakatos was live on RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on CPR Worldwide Media

September 17, 2014: The Green Corruption Files found....

THE MISSION: Follow the money

Since late 2009, we've been exposing the Obama Regime’s clean-energy dirt –– aligned with the Left as well as those with political "access and influence" –– proving that this green energy scam is at least the largest, most expensive and deceptive case of crony capitalism in American history.

Stay tuned as we expose one chunk of this scheme at a time...

For those not familiar with The Green Corruption Files: In short, since 2010, I’ve been tracking the hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars that this administration has spent on climate change in conjunction with “green” (clean, renewable, alternative) energy –– AKA President Obama’s "save the planet slush fund."

More thoroughly, I’ve been FOLLOWING THE MONEY: the $34B that was doled out via the Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program; the $23B (and counting) in 1603 stimulus grants; special tax breaks; and various other “green” programs that were used as political payback, crony capitalism, and corporate welfare.

On April 28, 2012, this blog was launched, and we’ve published over 60 posts so far. Also, in the mix was a collaboration with Marita Noon, energy columnist and Executive Director at Energy Makes America Great, which began in June 2012 and recently ended. Ms. Noon has written about 25 stories based on my research, however, "together we have covered Obama’s Green-Energy Crony-Corruption Scandal more extensively than any other single outlet

Our work has been cited (sometimes multiple times) by an array of conservatives icons such as Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin, Jerome Corsi, John Hinderaker(Powerline blog), John Ransom, Jim Simpson, Daniel Greenfield (FontPageMag.com), and others.

In July 2014, a “green corruption tip” ended up becoming a bombshell piece by Lachlan Markay of the Washington Free Beacon –– which was later “spotted” at the House Financial Services Committee website.

Christine Lakatos is not only the founder of The Green Corruption Files, which was basically born as a concerned citizen to take on a big and corrupt government; she is also writer for Blogcritics Magazine. She’s a Christian, and the mother of two wonderful daughters. Her extensive background as an ACE Certified Fitness Trainer with over 30 years experience in the health and fitness industry, includes authoring the amazing fat loss program for women and girls of all ages, My Diva Diet –– eventually to be unleashed as a Fitness Superhero cartoon and video game. Lastly (but not the entire story), she is a retired bodybuilder and fitness competitor with quite a few titles under her belt (see website), including a competitor on American Gladiators in 1990.

Alarmingly, our environment has been hijacked by uber-rich individuals, crooked politicians, and an assortment of left wing extremists who are fueled by greed and power attached to a radical agenda to bring about "global governance," “redistribute the wealth,” and put the progressive movement –– big government, social justice and the death of capitalism –– on the fast track. Under the guise of “saving the planet,” these players, who are all interconnected in a variety of ways, are transforming our climate into something more sinister –– a scam of epic proportions.

Solyndra is just the tip of this "CORRUPT" iceberg.

June 2012: GREEN JOBS Obama Labor Dept. and the Green Jobs Scam

April 2012: Lakatos: The Obama “Green” Corruption—Dollar by Dollar

"Finally, someone has done the job of itemizing the massive transfer of your taxes to Obama cronies, donors and Democrat party supporters. Now that we can see it, we find most of the firms that received tax dollars were poor investments BEFORE the money was given them. For example:

March 31, 2012: The Daily Caller Excerpt...

Even more damning allegations, which suggest that former Obama administration officials and campaign bundlers received a sizable share of those federal funds, are now surfacing.

Christine Lakatos, a researcher and conservative writer who has followed the emerging scandals for several years at the blog Green Corruption, told TheDC the administration is engaging in “crony capitalism with ‘green’ dollars.”

Lakatos claimed the scandal goes deeper than Rep. Issa and his investigators have detected. She said companies linked to contribution “bundlers” from President Obama’s 2008 campaign received about 80 percent of the “green energy” loans made by the Energy Department during the last three years.

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About Me

I am THE Green Corruption Blogger-- check it.
I'm a Christian, mother of two awesome daughters, a Conservative, and I love animals. My REAL job is fitness expert, and I have a self-published diet book for women and young girls called My Diva Diet, and I'm in the process of developing the Super Fit KIDS USA Cartoon.
Lastly, I'm a retired bodybuilder and fitness competitor, and back in 1990 I was a contender on American Gladiators, and I have the YouTube clip to prove it -- By A Hair